By Yang Yang

UNLIKE other young women her age, the only adornment you can see on Ming Jun is a Buddhist bead necklace.

Ming Jun is her pen name as well as her religious name. In Chinese, the words mean, "A person of moral integrity".

Ming Jun is also the name of her business - a brand that Ming Jun is doing her best to promote. In less than three years, more than 20 bookstores bearing her name have opened with the extension of Shanghai's Metro Line 2.

However, talking about her rapid rise as Shanghai's biggest private bookstore owner doesn't appeal to Ming.

"Books should not be regarded purely as a commodity. They are cultural products," she said. According to her ideas, the purpose of running bookstores is not simply to seek fame or wealth. "It is a responsibility that publishers have - to provide information to readers and clear their doubts," she said.

Ming is a lover of literature from the bottom of her heart and her dream for her business is to place good books before Shanghai's readers. It is when her books catch readers' eyes and receive their praise that Ming feels a deep sense of satisfaction.

Career change

It's hard to believe, but in 1998, Ming was only a reporter sent to Shanghai by the Sichuan Financial Investment Newspaper to expand the paper's circulation in the city. At that time, people in Shanghai were mad about buying stocks and bonds. Looking at the life of ups and downs faced by Shanghai's growing number of shareholders, Ming hit on the idea of interviewing financial experts and inviting them to write analytical articles about the stock market.

The expert advice that was then published not only attracted more readers to the newspaper but made Ming think about planning a book on stocks. She collected experts' comments and compiled a book.

She also published the book's contents in a series of newspaper articles. "In this way, newspaper management and book publishing was naturally combined," Ming said.

Her first effort at planning a book inspired Ming to quit her job and become a bookstore keeper.

Survival secret

Looking back on her experience, Ming said: "One problem existing in China's publishing industry is that good books can't reach readers and readers can't find books worth reading."

The circulation process of getting books to readers faces many obstacles. Bookstore wholesalers purchase books from publishing houses but they have no idea of readers' needs, which often result in vast over-stocking of unmarketable books.

Realizing this, Ming began to act as an intermediary connecting two ends of the book market - one end was the planning of what books to publish and the other was informing readers and attracting them to the bookstores.

Ming's plan for book publishing has many aspects, from the selection of topics to the design and packaging of the books. "Every enterprise has its own secret for survival. Mine is to plan books for readers," she said, smiling confidently.

In the whole process of planning a new book, distribution plays an important supporting role. In China's State-owned publishing houses, distribution was always looked down upon by editors. "Most editors know little about the market and some even think that engaging in distribution is indecent," said Ming. "But for me, distribution provides me with the scientific data and the resources necessary for planning ahead."

By making money through planning books for publishing houses, Ming can sell books to readers at a discount. "What I do is to benefit readers, because readers always provide me with inspiration."

Although regarded as a successful publisher and bookseller, Ming still longs for a more relaxed life. "Business circles are full of coldness," she said. "Look at me, sometimes, I'm like a shrew."

Tough side

Two years ago, just when she had set her business on its successful course, one of her managers absconded with a lot of money. At the same time, some people in the business deliberately tried to make more troubles for her. "In order to save the business and be responsible for my staff, I had to conceal my nature and throw away all feminine restraints," said Ming.

It is the tough side of this "shrew" who always puts the interests and concerns of readers first. From the days of her first bookstore, Ming Jun began recruiting VIP members who enjoy a 20 per cent discount when buying books. "I never purchase the best-selling books from publishing houses," said Ming Jun. "The ones I pursue are tasteful and practical."

In the books planned by Ming herself, readers often find a readership survey form setting out some questions about their reading preferences. Ming Jun takes the responses into consideration when planning new book releases. "Knowing which books I should sell is helpful for me in making new plans. Winning a new reader is a success," she said.

With the rapid development of her business, Ming now feels that readers are happy to rely and trust upon her brand. "The brand is the life of my business," she said. She believes that the longer a bookstore is open, the more stable will be its customer base. "Bookstores will achieve sustainable development by creating a brand," said Ming.

Novel dream

Even though her business takes up so much of Ming's time, she still keeps one hour a day free for herself. "I do some reading and write some little essays in my private room to balance the conflict between my dreams and my business," she said, " I wish I could meet some friends who cherish the same ideals as I do."

Lately, Ming is helping to support some book-lovers who want to open their own bookstores. She said: "Only book-lovers who identify with this cause can really serve readers and I also want to set up a bookstore website for the convenience of readers."

Finally, Ming will not think of herself as having been a success until she writes her own well-received book some day.